The Jews of Spain by Jane S. Gerber A History of the Sephardic Experience

The history of the Jews of Spain is a remarkable story that begins in the remote past and continues today. For more than a thousand years, Sepharad (the Hebrew word for Spain) was home to a large Jewish community noted for its richness and virtuosity. Summarily expelled in 1492 and forced into exile, their tragedy of expulsion marked the end of one critical phase of their history and the beginning of another. Indeed, in defiance of all logic and expectation, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain became an occasion for renewed creativity. Nor have five hundred years of wandering extinguished the identity of the Sephardic Jews, or diminished the proud memory of the dazzling civilization, which they created on Spanish soil. This book is intended to serve as an introduction and scholarly guide to that history.

Unrated Critic Reviews for The Jews of Spain

Kirkus Reviews

Before detailing the frenzied deliberations (including the input of Columbus and his many Sephardic associates) that preceded the 1492 edict of expulsion, Gerber presents a chapter- long illustration of the literary and philosophical fruits of the Sephardic Golden Era.

Publishers Weekly

Before the brutal expulsion of 300,000 Jews from Spain in 1492, Sephardic Jews thrived on the Iberian peninsula for more than a millennium, as Gerber relates in this stirring and riveting saga, a remarkable story of creative adaptation, minority achievement and survival.